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Stuart Henry

Biography
by AllMusic

b. 1942, Edinburgh, Scotland, d. 24 November 1976, Luxembourg. One of the most popular disc jockeys on British airwaves during the 70s, Stuart Henry spent six years as an actor following training at the…Read Full Biography

Artist Biography
by AllMusic

b. 1942, Edinburgh, Scotland, d. 24 November 1976, Luxembourg. One of the most popular disc jockeys on British airwaves during the 70s, Stuart Henry spent six years as an actor following training at the Glasgow College Of Dramatic Art. However, he was lured away from that occupation with the offer of a job as a pirate disc jockey with Radio Scotland. A subsequent offer to join BBC Radio 1 came in 1967 which Henry, who suffered from seasickness, was happy to accept. His early shows included slots such as ‘She’s Leaving Home’, which attempted to trace missing adolescents, emphasizing a heartfelt concern for his fellow man and woman that never deserted him. He also campaigned against nuclear testing and introduced an environmental talk-in. Among the more extrovert disc jockeys of his generation, he was usually pictured in a caftan and beads, and his shows regularly attracted audiences of 11 million and upwards in the early 70s. However, his show was axed during a BBC shake-up in 1974, at which time he defected to Radio Luxembourg. Although unstated, part of the reason for the BBC sacking him was owing to his slight slurring of speech - they believed it to be the result of cannabis usage, when in fact it signalled the onset of multiple sclerosis. In 1982 fellow Radio Luxembourg disc jockey Tony Prince encouraged him to make his condition public as misplaced accusations of on-air insobriety threatened to wreck his career. His former model wife, Ollie, whom he married in 1976, began to help him during his broadcasts as his condition worsened. To their credit, Radio Luxembourg insisted that as long as he could talk, he would still have a job with their station, and The Stuart And Ollie Show continued for many years. When the station closed in 1992 they started a pop news service for local radio and contributed to rock nostalgia magazine Gold. Eventually the disease left him utterly incapacitated and he died in November 1995 with Ollie still his constant nurse and companion.